Rotterdam Zombie Walk 2016

There’s always something interesting happening at Rotterdam and Saturday night was no exception. Crowds of people gathered in the Schouwburgplein (Theatre Square) for the third Rotterdam Zombie Walk. In some cases, the quality of costumes and makeup was pretty basic, but the majority of Zombies had put a lot of work into looking the part. If it hadn’t been for all the onlookers, such as myself, mingling with the zombies and surviving the experience with a smile on their faces, the Schouwburgplein would have looked like a scene from Day of the Dead.

The zombies began to gather in the Schouwburgplein at about 8pm and if the figures I’ve heard are correct, there were about 600 of them. It was a very good atmosphere, with plenty of mischievous zombies sneaking up on people and giving them a fright. Cameras were flashing left, right, and centre. The walk was scheduled to begin half-an-hour later, but things were delayed and the living dead didn’t mobilise themselves until a little after 9pm.

I didn’t venture too far from Schouwburgplein because I had a train to catch, but I saw everything I wanted to see and got to the station on time. I later learned that the zombies had encountered some trouble along the way. A group of teens began circling the procession and throwing fireworks. According to an article published on the AD news website, the zombie walk organiser, Leen Steen, had to help protect four young ladies from Belgium who were being “harassed all the time”.

I was surprised to hear that this had happened because I go to a lot of different events in the Netherlands and have never once seen any trouble. Sadly it sounds like the third Rotterdam Zombie walk may also be the last. Leen Steen says it is likely the Schouwburgplein event will be dropped next year in favour of a big horror party for Halloween lovers and a “tour through the town” will not be on the agenda.